Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on BankUnited (NYSE:BKU)

Key Points

• Unusual options activity: Investors bought 19,542 BankUnited call options on Wednesday, a surge of about 2,213% above the average volume of 845 contracts.
• Stock and earnings update: BankUnited shares rose to $49.90, near the top of their 12-month range, even though the company recently reported quarterly EPS of $0.83, which missed analysts’ expectations of $0.97.
• Dividend and analyst backdrop: The bank increased its quarterly dividend to $0.33 per share, and analysts currently view the stock as a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $53.27.

BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 19,542 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 2,213% compared to the average volume of 845 call options.

BankUnited Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BKU traded up $0.78 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $49.90. 696,129 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 849,912. The firm has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a PE ratio of 13.91 and a beta of 1.17. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $46.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.54. BankUnited has a 12 month low of $34.50 and a 12 month high of $52.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.14). BankUnited had a return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 14.46%.The firm had revenue of $273.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $284.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that BankUnited will post 4.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This is a positive change from BankUnited's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 10th. BankUnited's payout ratio is currently 36.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BankUnited news, insider Jay D. Richards sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total transaction of $194,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 40,502 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,971,232.34. This represents a 8.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John N. Digiacomo sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.97, for a total value of $45,970.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $690,791.19. This trade represents a 6.24% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in BankUnited by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,472 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in BankUnited by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,673 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in BankUnited by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 17,213 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $767,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in BankUnited by 24.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,810 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 2.4% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 19,550 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $746,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BKU has been the subject of several recent research reports. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of BankUnited in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on BankUnited from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of BankUnited from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of BankUnited from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of BankUnited from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $53.27.

About BankUnited

BankUnited, Inc is a bank holding company based in Miami Lakes, Florida, operating through its subsidiary BankUnited, National Association. The company provides a broad range of commercial banking products and services, including deposit accounts, commercial lending and treasury management. It serves middle-market and small-business clients, offering tailored financing solutions across a variety of industry sectors.

The bank's lending portfolio includes commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate loans and construction financing, as well as residential mortgage lending.

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